The Letter
by Angel Tanaka
Summary: Duo finds out what's the most important thing in the world to him and it only took 30 minutes for Heero to do the same.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own them and I swear I'm really broke, plus I just took a kid to the zoo. Do you guys have any idea how much that costs? It's a pretty shiny penny.

Relena frowned as she thought about what she had to do. An entire Preventers special forces had been killed when their helicopter went down. It just happens to be a team that one Heero Yuy was in charge of. She felt tears beginning to gather in her eyes once again. She had received the word six minutes and forty-seven seconds ago. She had commanded Une to send a search team, but they all knew it was useless. She gripped the letter she had in her hand tightly to her chest and whispered, "a promise is a promise."

She stepped off the elevator onto the fourth floor of Preventers headquarters and immediately found her target. "Duo," she called softly.

He smiled brightly, "hey, Lena, what's up? Did you know they said that if my ribs continue to heal right I'll be out from behind this desk by next week? I can't wait to tell Heero."

Relena felt her heart ache at the news she had to bring. "Duo, I need to talk to you privately for a minute. Let's go into the conference room." Duo followed silently knowing that something was wrong. She waited until he had entered before closing the door behind them. "Please sit down, Duo."

As he sat, Duo, felt that his day was just about to take a turn for the worse. He saw the tearstains that she had tried to scrub away and knew that something was wrong. "Lena, what's wrong? Do you need me to rough somebody up for you?" It was a joke, but the tone of worry was evident.

She smiled sadly, "Duo, you know I loved Heero more than anything in the world right?"

"Yeah, but you got over him when you met Jack." Duo was beginning to feel a little nervous.

Relena sat in a chair in front of Duo, "you know that I would do anything Heero asked me to right?" Duo nodded and she continued, "two years ago he gave me a letter. He said that if anything ever happened to him that I was to give this to you and no matter what I was to make sure you were alright." She handed him the letter, "Duo, the helicopter Heero was in went down and we received word nine minutes ago that all passengers onboard were killed instantly…I'm sorry, Duo."

Duo's face went white as he looked back and forth from Relena to the letter. "What…What are you saying?"

She placed her hand lovingly on his arm, "Duo, Heero…Heero was killed in the crash."

Duo jumped back and knocked the chair over. He fell with it to the floor, but jumped up quickly. "No…No! Do you hear me! I said NO!!" He had one arm protectively against his ribs and he was breathing heavily.

Relena's eyes began tearing up once again and wondered why Heero picked her, of all people, to tell Duo. "Listen to me…Heero told me to make sure you read the letter before anything else, so please, Duo, read it…Read it for him."

Duo's eyes began filling with tears as he nodded slowly and with trembling hands opened the envelope that contained the letter. He vaguely noted his name written in Heero's perfect writing before he pulled out the letter. He slowly folded it open and noticed it smelled like Heero's shampoo.

_Dear Duo,_

_It's probably not that great of a time to tell you this, but I never was good with words. I'm giving this letter to Relena to give to you, so don't bite her head off, as you always say. She's a good friend and a good listener. I'm hoping that you will talk to her, but I know you're going to try and run away first. Please, don't._

_Duo, I have a secret to confess…I love you. I've never wanted anything more, which is why I am always giving you a hard time. It is why I'm always watching you. You have no idea what the smell of your shampoo really does to me or the way your eyes light up when I agree to something. I miss you so much when you are not around. I also get so jealous when I see you hanging on someone…Most of the time I wish I was the one you were hanging on…_

_I never could tell any of this to you face to face. I hope you're not mad at me for making Relena tell you, but it was the easiest way for me. I knew that you would be upset or I hoped that you would at least miss me too. I never really have been sure of how you felt about me, another reason why I never said anything. Duo, sweet Duo, I hope that you go on and continue to make something wonderful of yourself. I have always believed in you…I just wish I could have believed in myself._

_When I first met you, you shot me…I always wondered how you could sneak up on me like that, so I began watching you then. I never really stopped…One night you were standing out in the rain when we were all suppose to be asleep. I watched you for twenty minutes…You just cried…I always wanted to make the pain you felt stop, but I never knew how. I hope that you find something to make you happy. I hope that you smile and your eyes light up once again. I would love if it was when you were thinking of me, but I can not delude myself to believe that._

_I am so sorry if I missed anything by dying or if I let you down in any way. Remember that I wish for your happiness above anything else, Koi, and know that I will wait for you even if you just wish to be my friend._

_Love,_

_Heero_

__Duo wiped the tears from his eyes and realized he was kneeling on the ground. He looked up at Relena, "he loved me?"

Relena kneeled in front of him, "he and I use to talk about you all the time. I would catch him watching you and ask why he refused to say anything to you. His reply would always be the same "you can't bottle up sunshine." I never really knew what he meant by that until I saw him light up at a simple request from you to get some dinner. The funny thing is he told you no, but the invitation meant more than anything to him. He was walking on cloud nine for a week after that."

"If he loves…loved me why did he say no?"

Relena smiled, "I asked him the same thing and he told me, oh I cracked up laughing when he said it…He told me that he was playing hard to get." Relena giggled at the memory and Duo cracked a half smile. "Can you just imagine it, Heero Yuy playing hard to get."

Duo let loose a sad laugh before sadly asking, "why did he have to tell me after he died? He could have just asked if I wanted to hang out on a more personal level. I wouldn't have said no. I've been trying to turn his head for three years, but I was terrified he was going to kill me."

Relena looked into his sad eyes, "he was afraid that if he said anything he would lose you and he wouldn't have survived losing you. You were his sunshine, his heart."

A knock on the conference door interrupted them. "Yes?"

A timid young man opened the door and leaned in, "ma'am, the pilot on the search team just called in…They found two agents alive. One was agent Chang and he was screaming something about injustice before the line went dead. We're not sure who the second agent is, but they should be landing any second now. There are multiple injuries to both agents, so they're going to be put in ICU right away."

Relena and Duo both looked shocked, "two agents alive?" Duo turned to Relena, "if Wufei's alive Heero has to be too!" He smiled brilliantly and jumped up running to the elevator. He was on his way to part of the building that served as the hospital, with the letter in hand. He ignored the protesting pain from the ribs that had been fractured in a raid two weeks earlier.

It had been twenty-one minutes since Relena had been notified that something had gone horribly wrong when Duo reached the ICU. He saw Sally at the nurses' station, "Sally!"

She turned with tear streaks on her face, "Duo, no one knew Wufei was on the flight. I didn't know…They said he was talking, but that he's hurt really bad." She started crying all over again.

Duo engulfed her into a big hug, "he'll be just fine… After all, he has a reason to come home now doesn't he?" Sally nodded and placed a hand protectively on the small bump that was her stomach. Duo smiled and he continued, "there that's a good girl. Now have they said who the other agent was?"

Sally's eyes went wide, "no one told you?"

"Told me what?"

At that moment the double doors opened wide and the trauma team rushed a gurney through with one very angry Wufei on it, "I can walk just fine. I only need a few stitches! It's not the end of the world, so let me up!"

Duo and Sally ran over to the bed as they were rolling it past. "Wufei," Sally whispered as she reached for his hand.

Duo screamed, "Wufei, who was the other agent? Was it Heero? Is he alright?"

Before Wufei could say anything an oxygen mask was slammed onto his face and a nurse pushed Duo and Sally back. Wufei disappeared behind the evil doors that no non-medical personnel are allowed behind and Duo turned to Sally. "No one told me what!?"

Sally; however, had started crying again and began incoherent mumblings. Duo stared at her trying to make sense of what she was saying, but he just couldn't. "Sally! Straighten up and quit crying right now or so help me God…!" She immediately quit and he glared at her, "did Heero make it or not!" His voice had taken on a deadly tone and the gleam from his violet eyes promised instant death if the correct answer was not given immediately.

Sally opened her mouth to speak, but before she could Duo heard, "of course I made it, baka, I always live or haven't you figured that out by now?" Duo turned around and came face to face with a smirking Heero Yuy. "So are we still on for pizza tonight?"

Duo grinned and glomped on him. He couldn't figure out what to say, so he put their mouths to better use. When he pulled back from the kiss Heero was staring at him wide eyed trying to get his mouth to form words, but it was of no use. "The next time you decide to write me a letter telling me how much you love me after you die I would really reconsider giving it to Relena as we all know she's really prompt."

Heero's eyes went even wider, "she gave you the letter?"

Duo nodded, "yes she did and I was almost convinced that you didn't notice me. Well, now I know the truth, don't I? Question is what to do about it?" Heero gulped audibly and his face went white. Duo smiled mischievously, "I say we go grab the pizza, a movie, a big blanket, and camp out on my sleeper sofa for the night. What do you think?"

Heero took a look around him and whispered to Duo, "did I really die and no one wants to tell me?"

Duo leaned next to his ear and whispered, "you're not allowed to die, ever, do you understand me?" Heero nodded and Duo smiled, "good because I would come after you in a heart beat just to scream at you for being stupid. Now how bad are you hurt?"

Heero shuffled his feet and mumbled, "I don't want to say…"

"Why not?"

"Because I like your idea better than spending a few hours here…"

Duo laughed, "Heero, just tell me and I promise I'll nurse you back to health, koi."

Heero smirked lightly, "so you really did read it…Fine, I have two, possibly three, broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and a sprained ankle. I also need a few stitches from shrapnel. However, there is **not** one single bullet wound." He was so proud of his accomplishment of not getting shot as Duo had joked that it was not possible for him to come home from a mission without getting shot.

Duo smiled mischievously and grabbed Heero's shirt. He pulled him forward, "I think we need a vacation…" Then he kissed him with all the passion he could muster.

The sounds of Sally yelling at a doctor to let her in to see Wufei were ignored as was Relena's high pitched, "give your love letter to someone else next time because there's no way I'm doing that ever again!" The couple only had eyes for each other and everything else could wait…

Heero Yuy had been dead for thirty minutes before he finally got the chance to live…


End file.
